5 Feel-Good Star Trek Episodes That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity

When "Star Trek" kicked off in 1966, it launched an expansive franchise that developed into multiple television series, 14 feature films, video games, novels, comics, and so much more. The earliest "Star Trek" episodes often dealt with sad and serious topics related to societal issues of the era. Because of this, so much of "Star Trek" is allegorical of issues surrounding gender, sexuality, race relations, politics, and war. That's not what you might call "feel-good," but even the original series didn't remain serious throughout its run.

There have been several feel-good episodes spread across most "Star Trek" shows that deviate from the format. These are the episodes that don't feature horrifying space plagues or life-or-death situations that seem hopeless. Instead, they delve into the franchise's lore, covering introspective issues that don't cause stress to the viewer. When they're done well, a feel-good episode of "Star Trek" can often take the lead as a series' best ever aired, and there are many to choose from.

Some might involve a story that looks back upon the earliest days of Starfleet. Others delve into a popular character's family and friends. Whatever the topic, there are more than enough feel-good episodes for fans to sit back and enjoy. These kinds of episodes are also great at pulling in new viewers, thanks to their lighthearted nature and well-written narratives. These are five of the best feel-good episodes from across the franchise, and they're organized in the order they aired on television.

Of all the original series' episodes, Season 2, Episode 15's "The Trouble with Tribbles" is probably the most well-known. That's, in part, thanks to the above image, which is one of the funniest moments in "Star Trek" history. The episode delves into topics with the crew of the USS Enterprise and the crew from a Klingon vessel, both taking shore leave on Deep Space Station K7. This leads to several issues — and through it all, Tribbles create a serious problem.

The cute, furry creatures reproduce at exponential rates, thanks to the presence of Quadrotriticale grain that the Enterprise crew is meant to guard. While the situation becomes dire, thanks to an ever-growing mountain of cooing fluff, it's impossible not to love the little menaces. The episode ends with Ensign Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) transporting all of the Tribbles onboard the Enterprise to the Klingon ship's engineering room, saying "They'll be no Tribble at all."

There's a lot of love for "The Trouble with Tribbles," and this was clear in the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode, "Trials and Tribble-ations." It sees the command team of DS9 transported back in time to the events of the earlier series' episode. They interact with the characters and cover several interesting topics, including why Klingons looked different in the 23rd century. It's a fun, lighthearted episode, but you can't beat the OG tribble story at its own game.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" had many feel-good episodes, including "Captain's Holiday," where Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) has an adventure on Risa. While that episode is a fan-favorite, most would agree that Season 5, Episode 25's "The Inner Light" is one of the series' best. In fact, it's Stewart's favorite episode from the entire show, which isn't surprising given the story. After the USS Enterprise-D discovers a probe in space, it scans Picard and transports him to the planet Kataan.

Picard awakens from a fever with his wife beside him, as he's not himself; he's a native named Kamin. Initially, Picard insists he's not Kamin but is, instead, Jean-luc Picard; but after some time, he settles into his new life. Years pass, and Kamin has built his family as they endure sad times and enjoy happy times. Meanwhile, minutes pass onboard the Enterprise — but for Picard, he lives an entire lifetime.

It's during this event that Picard learns to play the Ressikan flute, which he enjoys. Forty years pass, and Kamin discovers that the planet's star is on the verge of going nova. As the civilization launches a rocket into space, Kamin realizes that it's the probe that transported him there 40 years earlier. The people around him explain that its purpose was to keep their civilization alive, and after 25 minutes pass on the Enterprise, Picard awakens. He finds a flute inside the probe and continues to play it throughout his life.

If there's one thing "Star Trek" has always done well, it's time travel stories. "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is certainly a beloved movie, and it's among good company with the franchise's TV shows. The best time travel episode in "Deep Space Nine" is easily Season 4, Episode 8's "Little Green Men," which sees Quark (Armin Shimerman), Nog (Aron Eisenberg), and Rom (Max Grodénchik) transported to Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. They wake up on a United States Army base, where the soldiers and scientists there label them as Martians.

Nog fixes their universal translators, helping with communication; and Quark negotiates with the humans, hoping to sell them future technology, as he's always out to make money. Throughout his efforts, Nog tries to dissuade him to protect the timeline, and they get into some hilarious hijinks. Meanwhile, Odo (René Auberjonois), who was hiding aboard the Ferengi's shuttle, backs up Nog's attempt to protect the timeline, and he succeeds.

The group is then aided by a nurse and her fiancé to escape. Since it's 1947, the U.S. is actively testing nuclear weapons, which works to their favor. They harness the released energy from a detonation with the kemocite that brought them to the past, and are returned home. Without hesitation, Odo arrests Quark for transporting illegal contraband, and everything is back to normal. It's now clear that the so-called "Little Green Men" from Roswell were none other than a trio of 24th-century Ferengis.

Despite the chaotic nature of "Star Trek: Voyager's" premise, it's filled with feel-good episodes. Some deal with The Doctor (Robert Picardo) expanding his abilities, while others explore Seven of Nine's (Jeri Ryan) attempts at dating. While there are many to choose from, the best feel-good episode, and one that is widely considered to be the series' best, is Season 6, Episode 12's "Blink of an Eye." In the episode, the USS Voyager becomes caught in a time displacement field surrounding an unusual planet.

Because of its fast rotation, time moves at a rate that's exponentially faster than what is experienced on Voyager. The crew works to get away from the planet, while the starship's presence inadvertently causes quakes. This violates the Prime Directive because their presence establishes the ship as a god known as the Ground Shaker, and as centuries pass, the planet's culture becomes heavily influenced by Voyager. It goes from a pre-industrial society to a space-age one, capable of sending a mission to investigate.

While this leads to a conflict between Voyager and the people on the planet, the situation is ultimately resolved, and Voyager is able to break free. Thanks to time dilation, the crew aboard Voyager only experienced a handful of hours, while the planet experienced several hundred years. It's a fascinating episode that explores aspects of the Prime Directive and how influencing a pre-warp civilization can lead to disastrous outcomes, even when it happens unintentionally.

"Star Trek: Enterprise" explores a time before Starfleet existed, delving into the first ship to carry the name: the NX-01 Enterprise. This allows for numerous episodes to uncover the early days of manned warp travel and how things took shape before the events of the original series. Several feel-good episodes are spread across the show's four seasons, though the best is Season 2, Episode 2's "Carbon Creek." While not a time-travel episode, it explores a period some 200 years before the events of the series.

The story is told as a flashback about T'Pol's (Jolene Blalock) ancestor, T'Mir (also played by Blalock), and how she was stuck in 1957 on a backwater planet: Earth. They crash on the planet while studying the Sputnik space probe. Realizing that rescue from Vulcan could take months, the three crewmembers settle into the small nearby town of Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. They do this to obtain supplies and survive while awaiting rescue despite their desire to avoid influencing the pre-warp culture.

Regardless, they end up befriending several people and also find jobs. One crewmember, Mestral (J. Paul Boehmer), falls in love with a human and desires to stay. T'Mir is initially opposed, but reluctantly agrees, telling their eventual rescuers that he perished in the crash. "Carbon Creek" is all about acceptance and finding a place in the world, and it's easily one of "Enterprise's" best episodes. It's also a great feel-good story that's ideal for bringing new fans into the franchise.